Zuzu, Lost and Found

Karolyn Grimes was a six-year-old movie veteran when she was hand-picked by director Frank Capra for the part of Zuzu Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life. Of all four of the Bailey children, Zuzu was the most significant: it is the discovery in his pocket of Zuzu’s petals (from a dying flower she had beside her bed) that makes George Bailey realise that he is back in the real world, to his ecstatic relief. And it is Zuzu who utters the immortal, penultimate line: “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.”

Grimes, now 81 has vivid memories of making the film. “I had a blast, ” she says. “There were other kids on the set – which made it fun, and the snow had a big impact on me too: I was born and raised in Hollywood so I had never seen snow and although this wasn’t real snow, it was close enough.”

During her short career, Grimes played alongside various leading men – John Wayne in Rio Grande, Cary Grant in The Bishop’s Wife (another Christmas classic), Bing Crosby in Blue Skies – but she had a particular affinity with James Stewart.

“He had a lot of patience with me,” she says, “and always helped me if I messed up a line.” Frank Capra also had a way with children. “He didn’t yell at us. Some directors were very fierce, but he’d get down on his knees and talk to us at eye level. He let us be natural. You didn’t have to stick to the script word for word and that gave us kids a feeling of relaxation. He and Jimmy Stewart had a special rapport and played a lot of practical jokes – there was a real family atmosphere on that set.”

Unfortunately, the rest of Grimes’s childhood was anything but wonderful. Her movie career ended abruptly in her teens when her parents died: her mother died of early-onset Alzheimer’s and her father was killed in a road accident just a year later.

“The court in Hollywood shipped me to a little town in the midwest to live with my uncle,” she explains. She trained as a medical technician and was raising her children when, one day, somebody knocked at her door and asked if she was Zuzu.

“It was a writer from a local newspaper, and they published an article about me. Then another one published something and pretty soon it was picked up by the wires. Then it was official – they had ‘found’ Zuzu.” This was the early 1980s, and It’s a Wonderful Life was about to undergo another boost – through its video release.

“I was aware of its increasing popularity, but I didn’t think much about it until I got my first fan mail. Then I got more and more – I was shocked. I had all the movie memorabilia in the basement and every time someone came to interview me, I’d drag it all up the stairs. Finally I thought, well it looks like this thing is here to stay. so I made a room and put the stuff on the walls, and in cabinets, and I now have a little museum!”

The other Bailey kids were duly tracked down too, and they were all reunited with one another by phone. Then, in 1993, they were brought together for a country-wide tour of personal appearances – 750,000 fans turned out to greet them on Sunset Boulevard.

These days, Grimes spends most of her time in the run-up to Christmas on such tours – her grandchildren call her Grandma Zuzu. “I’ve been on the road with It’s a Wonderful Life ever since. It’s really a second career.”

So why does she think it’s so well-loved? “Because there’s a message in it for everyone. We’ve all gone through adversity. I didn’t really watch it until 1990 when I lost my son. I was kinda compelled to watch it when I went to It’s a Wonderful Life parties, and that’s when I found the magic. Now I see it maybe 20 times a year. I enjoy watching it with people, and seeing their reactions, and I hear amazing stories about how this movie has affected their lives in such positive ways. I think that men especially love this film because they can identify with George in so many ways.

“For a lot of men, their dreams never come true. And I also think that one of the great fears that men havers that they won’t be able to support their families. They live with that almost continually, so they all identify with George.”

Perhaps the biggest thrill to come out of all of this for Grimes was the chance to be reunited with her screen father late in his life. “When people started looking for Zuzu, they would write to Jimmy Stewart and he would send them in my direction. We had a reunion in 1990, in New York. He and I spent the whole day together. There was a woman who had been his fan for 50-something years, and he had made it possible for her to come to New York. She met us at his hotel and she brought this huge scrapbook that she’d kept over the years of everything he’d ever sent her. We sat down and went thought he scrapbook and relived his life, page by page. It was really quite a wonderful experience. It’s a lovely memory to have of him.”

• This interview was conducted in 2006

It’s Still a Wonderful Life!

This week marks the 75th anniversary of the most cherished Christmas movie of all time – It’s a Wonderful Life. Frank Capra’s life-affirming fable of a suicidal everyman whose guardian angel shows him that the world would have been a poorer place without him is now regarded as the most uplifting of all feel-good films. For its legions of fans, it is as essential a part of the festive season as carols, cards and carving the turkey. These days, most people have heard of the film, even if they haven’t seen it, and many cinemas and TV channels screen the movie year-in, year-out as a Christmas tradition. Yet, at one point, this classic was in serious danger of sinking into obscurity.

When It’s a Wonderful Life premiered in New York on December 21, 1946, it was a major event heralded by big spreads in newspapers and magazines. The movie was the first film made by both its director, Frank Capra, and its charismatic star, James Stewart, since they had returned from serving in the Second World War, and many of the reviews were glowing. One reviewer wrote that it “melted the barnacles off my heart and left me feeling young and full of ideals again.”

Capra, who had felt that the story was a gem from the outset, was entitled to be disappointed, then, when the film failed to live up to expectations at the box office. Although movie lore has it that It’s a Wonderful Life was a flop when it first came out, it actually performed quite respectably – just not as well as anyone had hoped. Telegrams flooded in to Capra congratulating him on the film. Joan Crawford wrote: “Just saw It’s a Wonderful Life. It was magnificent. Bless you.” And William Holden’s said: “Thanks for making us stop to think that it is wonderful.” Nevertheless, at the box office the takings were unspectacular and its failure to win any of the Oscars for which it was nominated stuck in Capra’s craw.

Perhaps audiences just weren’t ready for the film. Released just two months after the end of the Nuremberg trials and with the horrors of the war still fresh in most minds, It’s a Wonderful Life – for all that it is often dismissed as sentimental “Capra-corn” – was, in its darkest moments, considerably darker than the usual Hollywood fare. James Stewart’s character, George Bailey, is literally on the brink of suicide (he’s poised to jump into the river) because he feels he has let his family and friends down. In 1946, movies didn’t entertain the notion of suicide, let alone show the hero attempting it, on Christmas Eve of all days.

Just as shocking, from the 1946 point of view, was the scene in which Bailey gets drunk and, sobbing into his double bourbon, begs God for help. Movie-goers had seen James Stewart playing a champagne-burping drunk in The Philadelphia Story, but here he was playing a man driven to drink by gut-wrenching, raw despair.

In the run-up to the film’s release, Capra said: “People are numb after the catastrophic events of the past ten to 15 years. I would not attempt to reach them mentally through a picture, only emotionally.” And he certainly put his audience on an emotional rollercoaster with this one: the plunges into the pits of despair are more than balanced out (if not, like the horrors of childbirth, blotted out) by the ecstatic climax of the film – the wild jubilation of the hero as he realises the value of his life, the overwhelming outpouring of support and love, and the final message of “No man is a failure who has friends”.

The story behind the film echoes the “second chances” theme of the movie itself. Ironically, it was television which, in the early 1950s was blamed for wiping out cinemas audiences, which gradually came to be the film’s guardian angel. TV kept the film in circulation and introduced successive generations to its delights. It developed a cult following, and, by the late 1970s, converts in America – where it was shown much more often than here – were holding It’s a Wonderful Life parties. Watching it became an event; it was one to watch in company and preferably during the festive season.

The film’s second life was also the result of the copyright lapsing in 1973. It was such a neglected movie, and had been passed around among so many different companies, that it was allowed to slip into the public domain. This meant that not only could TV stations show it for nothing, but that clips from it could be pinched by filmmakers and used in their movies by way of homage – or to boost the feel-good factor of their own films. These tantalising snippets helped to pique the interest of viewers who were starting to hear about this quirky festive film. It was only in the mid-1980s, as the video took off that It’s a Wonderful Life took its place as a mainstream classic.

Of course, the main reasons for the film’s longevity and popularity are there for all to see in the two hours of screen time. It’s an inspired and daring blend of comedy, fantasy and tragedy. It appeals to children and adults alike. It boasts a tour-de-force performance by James Stewart and a supporting cast of such unforgettable, beautifully nailed, characters as his hapless guardian angel, Clarence Oddbody (Henry Travers), his loving wife, Mary (Donna Reed), his hapless uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell), his Scrooge-like nemesis, Mr Potter (Lionel Barrymore), and the kind old pharmacist, Mr Gower (HB Warner). It offers hope and it restores or reinforces our faith in our fellow man. Now in its eighth decade, and better loved than ever, It’s a Wonderful Life is proof positive that second chances are always worth taking. Attaboy Capra!

Robert Townson & The Magic of Movie Music

Robert Townson, the film music producer who brought Hollywood legends to Glasgow in the 1990s and worked with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra on a series of recordings now regarded as mythic, is returning to Scotland next week. In two special concerts, the RSNO and Townson are reuniting to celebrate the 40^thanniversary of Varese Sarabande, the record label which showcased their unique relationship; a relationship which produced an astounding 40 soundtrack albums over seven years.

Just like the new audiences who have been coming to RSNO concerts after having their interest piqued by the organisation’s various film music events, so Townson, now Vice President of Soundtracks and Executive Producer at Varese Sarabande, found that film music was a gateway to classical music in general.

Back in the late 1970s, Townson was “just an 11-year-old kid” going to the cinema with his pals. Over the course of just two years, four movies came out which, he says, changed his life: Star Wars (1977) and Superman (1978), both with a score by John Williams, and Star Trek – The Motion Picture and Alien (both 1979), both scored by Jerry Goldsmith.

“These four films opened my eyes and ears to this music,” says the charismatic Canadian, who still sounds wonder-struck as he describes the effect that John Williams’s rousing fanfares had on him. “I was not a musically sophisticated kid; I didn’t even play the piano. I went to see the films with no expectation but I was struck by the scores, there was an immediate connection. John and Jerry sparked my passion in all music – through them I discovered classical music, in particular Dvorak, Mahler and Beethoven.

“The late 1970s was a fertile period of great film music – a near golden age. The composers who were writing still included the masters of earlier decades – Miklos Rozsa, Elmer Bernstein, Georges Delerue.”

Not only were some of the important figures from the 1940s and 1950s still active but film music as a distinct genre worthy of respect was given a shot in the arm around this time with the release of the Classic Film Scores by RCA. These records introduced the adolescent Townson to the first wave of Hollywood movie composers, who had come from Europe.

He recalls:  “I developed a voracious appetite for the music, especially Jerry Goldsmith’s. Every score I heard by him was mindblowing to me. The variety and range in his work was amazing. I look back now and admire my teenage taste!”

You also have to admire Townson’s teenage chutzpah. After all, he founded a record label Masters Film Music, before he hit 20. But why?

“Well, it was born out of frustration. I was frustrated that there were new films whose soundtracks weren’t being released. Three of these films really triggered me into action: The Final Conflict (The Omen 3) and Raggedy Man which had Goldsmith scores, and Heartbeeps, which John Williams did between Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T, a magnificent period in his career. I realised that something needed to be done – and the conclusion I came to was to release all three myself!”

Operating out of his bedroom in his parents’ home, Townson made contact with Goldsmith, and, for distribution, approached Varese Sarabande as they were already specialists in film music, having recorded concert works by movie composers. The film studio allowed him to use the original soundtrack of The Final Conflict by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Goldsmith himself.

Goldsmith was delighted with the album. For Townson, it proved the launchpad for the career he has today. “It established me working with Jerry. From that first album until he died in 2004, there wasn’t a time when we weren’t working on something. We made 80 albums together; he was like a second father to me. He was a wonderful man, an absolute genius and a very cool guy – very demanding of himself and very driven. He would finish recording a score in the morning and start writing the next one that afternoon.”

A successful recording of Alex North’s score for 2001: A Space Odyssey inspired Townson to begin a new project: of recording existing scores alongside the new soundtrack albums he was producing for Varese Sarabande. Three albums into the series, he began to have logistical problems with the orchestra, and just at that point he heard that the RSNO was interested in recording film music.

Townson’s first visit to Glasgow, in 1995, produced a new recording of the peerless Bernard Herrmann score for Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, conducted by the up-and-coming film composer Joel McNeely. It was a tremendous success, winning the Gramophone Award and paving the way for regular trips to Scotland over the next seven years. “I’d do maybe three or four recordings each time, and I was recording pretty much exclusively with the orchestra. The RSNO was far and away my preferred orchestra and I always looked forward to my next trip.”

He wasn’t the only one. Jerry Goldsmith became such a regular here that musicians back home in Los Angeles joked that they were lucky to have him at his own 70^thbirthday party; they had thought he might be celebrating in Glasgow with their Scots counterparts. Mind you, Goldsmith did have a 70^thbirthday concert here where audiences were thrilled to hear such powerful themes as those for Patton and Air Force One (the appropriation of which by Trump would not have gone down well with its composer, says Townson).

But it was Elmer Bernstein, the one-time blacklisted composer responsible for bringing uniquely American sensibility to the Hollywood movie score, who perhaps provided the most stardust, as well as forging a very special, mutually affectionate, relationship with the orchestra.

His music, along with Goldsmith’s, is represented in the programme for next weekend’s concerts and there will also be compositions by one of Glasgow’s own film music greats, Patrick Doyle, and the evening’s conductor, composer Diego Navarro. As Townson, who will be presenting, says: “It’s going to be a film music concert like no other!”

Robert Townson & Jerry Goldsmith, City Halls, Glasgow by Matthew Joseph Peak

*****

If you’re a film aficionado or a classical concert-goer, chances are that at some point in recent years you have attended a film screening with live orchestral accompaniment or a concert featuring a programme of iconic movie scores.

Film music has become big box office business, and, over the last few years we in Scotland have been spoiled for choice – the BBC SSO devoted a weekend to the music of Bernard Herrmann, the John Wilson Orchestra visits every winter with songs from the great musicals, and all the film festivals (even – or especially – the silent one at the Hippodrome Cinema in Bo’ness) tend to include some sort of celebration of movie music.

But it wasn’t always thus. Back in the 1990s, following a series of annual screenings of silent movies with music performed by the RSNO, conducted by composer Carl Davis, something magical happened: Hollywood itself began to come to Glasgow thanks to record producer Robert Townson who came to work with the RSNO to produce definitive new recordings of important scores from Hollywood history.

Nobody who experienced the diminutive white-haired movie giant Elmer Bernstein conducting his own, majestic and catchy music for The Magnificent Seven or his exquisitely delicate and beguiling themes for To Kill a Mockingbird at one of his birthday concerts with the RSNO in 1997 and 2002 could forget how their spine tingled at being in the presence of Hollywood history.

Robert Townson recalls that on the day they were about to record To Kill a Mockingbird, Bernstein was “trotting to the podium when the horn section started playing The Magnificent Seven theme”, much to his delight.

I, personally, remember the impact that news of Bernstein’s first visit to Glasgow had on colleagues at The Herald. When Michael Tumelty, the classical music critic who went on to become a favourite writer and friend of Bernstein, bumped into some musician pals outside the City Halls and asked what they were doing, he was gobsmacked to learn that they were recording The Great Escape, and zoomed back to the Herald office on Albion Street to share the news.

Fifteen minutes later, anyone who happened to pass the “smoking room” would have seen a conga line of middle-aged reporters and sub-editors slowly shuffling round a cupboard-sized space, jangling the coins in their pockets and collectively humming the rousing theme to that classic war movie. Such was the Bernstein effect.

And such is the effect of the iconic movie scores that the RSNO recorded back to worldwide acclaim back then, and continues to champion in film music concerts and events, such as their sell-out Back to the Future screening-with-live-accompaniment in Edinburgh last year. The orchestra even has a film music specialist from Hollywood, Richard Kaufman, on its roster of regular conductors and a dedicated, and concert-filled, film section – RSNO At the Movies – on its website. The giants of movie music may no longer walk among us but their legacy lives on …

* Varese Sarabande 40^thAnniversary Concert, November 16 & 17 at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh and the Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow respectively. Visit www.rsno.org.uk to book tickets.

* An edited version of this feature was published in The Herald on Saturday November 10th, and online at http://www.heraldscotland.com

New Site News!

Dear readers,

I’ve started a new website, ReBeauted, which is where all my beauty write-ups have been published for the last month.

I’ll continue to add style pieces here but would love you to come visit me at ReBeauted and tell me what you think.

In the last week, I’ve published posts about best budget beauty buys, the new Tom Ford Beauty Spring/Summer 16 collection and the best taupe nail polishes.

Look forward to hearing from you!

Yours,

Alison

 

The Mean Reds to See Off the January Blues

When it comes to red lipstick, there is no more iconic exponent than the greatest beauty icon of them all: Marilyn Monroe. So it makes perfect sense that Max Factor’s new capsule collection of red lipsticks is not only named after MM, but includes the Ruby Red shade (pictured below) that she loved.

The launch of the Max Factor Marilyn Monroe Colour Elixir Lipstick Collection in January is in response to research conducted by the beauty company. Its “Glam Jan” Poll revealed that more than half of women (55%) give up on glamour in the gloomiest month of the year because it’s too much hassle. So, this year, Max Factor is calling for women “to reclaim January’s forgotten glamour and embrace the classic red lip; the look that 70% of women say is the easiest way to make a glamorous beauty statement”.

Nevertheless, according to the poll, 53% of women avoid red lipstick because they can’t find the right shade for their skin tone. So .. the new capsule collection promises a shade to match every skin tone, and at a reasonable price of £10.99.

I’ve heard this “there’s a red for every skin tone” so many times and have seldom succeeded in finding one for mine. However, to my amazement, I followed the Max Factor guide and tried Berry Red, which is the recommendation for pale skins. And, you know what? It looks great. So much so that I may join the #GlamJan and #WearYourRed party on Twitter (also on Instagram) – which enters you into a competition to win a year’s supply of Max Factor Marilyn Monroe Colour Elixir Lipsticks!

Look out for the Max Factor Marilyn Monroe Colour Elixir Lipstick Collection in Boots and Superdrug branches.

Clinique’s Hero of the Night

It’s not brand, spanking, new but Clinique Repairwear Sculpting Night Cream (£58), which launched last year, is one of those products that’s so good, it has to be shouted about. If you’re concerned about slackening of the skin around the jawline and cheeks, this is one of the most affordable and enjoyable options on the market. I’ve been using mine for a couple of months and am not only impressed by the tightening results but also love its luxurious gel-cream texture, and – especially – the way it leaves my skin feeling smooth, rested and moisturised when I wake up in the morning. If it could just make me feel as if I’ve notched up eight hours’ sleep too, then it would be perfect!

Doin’ the Lauder Two-Step

Following the success of the first wave of its New Dimension sculpting and contouring skincare, Estée Lauder now brings us New Dimension Firm + Fill Eye System (£62), one of three new products in the range.

Part one of this two-step eye treatment is a light gel formula which helps tighten and tone the eye area skin while helping to re-plump and refresh it thanks to its hydrating properties. Formulated with Lauder’s pro-collagen complex, the gel aims to visibly lift, firm and smooth the skin around the eyes so that contours appear more defined.

The second stage of the treatment is a crème which has light-diffusing optics to instantly the smooth the appearance of the eye area. The idea is that after using both products together over a period of time, the look of crepiness is reduced and the skin looks firmer and is strengthened.

So what did I make of the Firm + Fill two-step? Well, I loved the lovely, cooling and tightening feel of step one, and was delighted to be using it night and day, as recommended. However, I wasn’t very keen on the second step as the thickness of the crème, which has to be patted on otherwise it drags the skin, drew attention to the lines under my eyes – and looked even worse when I put my normal make-up on. Using it at night, as prescribed, seemed a little bit unnecessary as I’m not really bothered about the look of the skin around my eyes when all I’m doing is heading for bed.

Over to you! What do you think? Let me know if you’ll be trying New Dimension Firm + Fill Eye System – or which eye creams you favour.

Hands Up for Clarins!

Can you improve on perfection? Well, the answer would appear to be yes – if Clarins‘s hand creams are anything to go by. Most of us beauty buffs are well acquainted with the classic Clarins Hand and Nail Treatment Cream (£21), which is a terrific all-round hand cream, particularly good for strengthening the nails and providing serious hydration. But now, those of us in our forties and/or concerned (okay, obsessing) about the giveaway signs of age on our hands have an alternative – Clarins Super Restorative Hand Cream (£37.50).

I must say I’m a convert, not least because the cream’s scent is beautiful, much more to my taste than the scent of the original Hand and Nail Treatment Cream. With its significantly higher price tag, the new cream is – perhaps unsurprisingly – more luxurious-feeling as well. Tackling signs of ageing is its main focus, and it does this by using extract of organic harungana, the “healing tree” from Madagascar, to reactivate the hormone-deprived fibroblasts which stimulate the production of collagen which, in turn, reinforces the skin’s structure. The appearance of age spots is also reduced thanks to extract of organic Montpellier rock rose, known as the “phoenix plant”.

A hands-down winner!

 

A Few of My Favourite 2015 Finds

Rimmel Salon Pro in Desire (£4.49) is the nail varnish I’ve loved most this year – the colour is chic and sexy and it lasts terrifically well.

Bumble & Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Protective Primer (£7.50) is brilliant for detangling and conditioning even the finest hair.

Illamasqua Brow Gel (£18.50) proved the perfect product for filling in sparse eyebrows in a subtle way.

I fell in love with the creamy texture and flesh colour of No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Eye Cream (£17)

Max Factor Ageless Elixir (£12.99) is THE most flattering foundation for older skin.

Chanel Rouge Coco (£26) was reformulated this year and is now perfect for my slightly dry lips – especially the deep pink Marie shade.

I tracked down a bottle of Essie Gel Setter Top Coat (£9.99) after it was used in the best manicure I’ve had in years!

Freedom Pro Eye Primer (£2.50) – cheap as chips but as effective as eye bases ten times its price!

Bourjois Rouge Edition Aqua Laque (£8.99) is simply the best lip lacquer I’ve come across in years – and the price is as beautiful as the colours..

Clarins Super Restorative Remodelling Serum (£80) is my anti-ageing weapon of 2015.

Estee Lauder Little Black Liner (£22) proved 2015’s easiest way to pull off a sexy flick of the eyeline.

Carole’s Christmas Crackers

I love this picture of Carole Lombard, one of my favourite Hollywood beauties from the golden age, gleefully opening her Christmas presents – even though I know it was probably taken in July and all the boxes are empty! I’m sure she would have loved to find any of my pick of this year’s beauty gifts under her tree – apart, obviously, from the token one for the men!

Bobbi Brown Caviar Mini Lip & Eye Palette, £26.50 (www.bobbibrown.co.uk)

Aveda Stress Fix Hand Creme Gift Set, £32 (www.aveda.co.uk)

Elemis Clean Man Gift Set, £25 (www.elemis.com)

 

Dior Multi-Use Make-up Palette, £68 (www.houseoffraser.co.uk)

Diptyque Oliban Candle, £48 (www.spacenk.co.uk)

Tom Ford Lips & Nails Gift Set, £130 (Tom Ford counters in House of Frasers and Space NK)